Human Resource Management

Mid Term Exam

Weekend Winter 2009
MBA Evening

Total time: 90 minutes Total Marks : 25

Instructions: Read all questions clearly. Examiner will take into

account clarity of thought, neatness of presentation and use of
concise and lucid English.

Answer all questions. Allocated maximum marks are shown against each
question.

1. You are the HR Manager of a small mining company. The company is a

private limited company with 250 employees. About 100 employees are
white collar workers, and belong to an Officers Club. The rest of the
employees belong to a registered Staff Union. In each of the following cases,
provide your opinion to management. Your support for your opinion should
be based on sound HR practice and likely repercussions if it is not followed.

a) The company ran an advertisement in a local paper for an officer’s

position. Whilst the Officer’s Club members were invited to apply for the
position, no such offer was made to the Union Staff. One of the union staff
members wanted to apply and complained to you that proper Recruitment &
Selection methodology was not being followed. The interviewer explained
that the most important consideration for any job is that the candidate has a
high level of job-specific knowledge, skills, and experience, possessed by the
officers interviewed. The complainant disagreed, saying that the most
important consideration for any job is that the individual has the
competence, personality and motivation to do the job in the future, not what
they did in the past. 6 Marks

b) There were three junior officers inducted in the company in January,

April and May 2007. The officer inducted in May was promoted to Officer in
January 2009; the other two officers complained to you that proper
promotion policy was not followed.
4 marks

c) In the Union Staff there were three Senior Clerks; a vacancy for a
Supervisor came up. A lady with impairment in her eyesight was promoted.
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The other two Senior Clerks protested that out of turn promotion was made
and the principle of equal opportunity was being abused. They further
claimed that different set of questions were asked from all candidates.
5 Marks

2. Provide brief explanations. 5

Marks

a) Elements and factors organizations use to differentiate its products or

services from those of its competitors to increase market share.
b) HR's basic challenges in formulating strategies.
c) The importance of HRM.

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 3. Multiple Choice Questions

Total time: 15 Minutes Total 5

Marks

Answer one choice only. Do not copy questions. No Negative marking.

Question 1
The authority exerted by an HR manager by virtue of others’ knowledge that
he or she has access to top management is known as:
a) Line Authority
b) Functional Authority
c) Implied Authority
d) Aggressive Authority

Question 2
One of the following you would like to avoid as HR managers
a) Selecting job candidates
b) Providing incentives and benefits
c) Building employee commitment
d) Improving turnover

Question 3
The main problem with obtaining job analysis data through interviews is:
a) Information distortion
b) Time
c) Employee frustrations
d) Unassigned duties

Question 4
Popular methods for gathering job analysis data are:
a) Diaries/logs
b) Observations
c) Questionnaires
d) All of the above

Question 5
Two tangible products of the job analysis are:
a) Process chart; job description
b) Job description; performance appraisal
c) Job description; job specifications.
d) Process chart; organization chart

Question 6
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The organization-wide division of work is shown by:
a) Job analysis
b) Organization chart
c) Process chart
d) All of the above

Question 7
A distinction can be made between 'hard' and 'soft' types of HRM. Soft HRM
can be characterized by:
a) Seeing people as organisational assets
b) A quantitative approach to HRM
c) A mutual commitment of employees and employers to the goals of the
organisation
d) Being driven by costs

Question 8
A list of what a job entails is the job's:
a) Job specifications
b) Performance standards
c) Job description
d) Job analysis

Question 9
Analyzing jobs involves determining in detail:
a) What the job entails
b) The employee's performance
c) What the job entails and the characteristics of people to hire
d) What kind of people to hire

Question 10
Basic components of a value-creating strategy-oriented HR process are:
a) Employee behaviors and competencies
b) HR system
c) HR professionals
d) All of the above

Good Luck
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